The amount of information and the number of services available to systems with Internet access is large, and is likely to continue to grow. So too is the accessibility of the information and services: wired and wireless infrastructure rollouts bring TCP/IP connectivity to more and more remote areas. This growth in content and availability is mirrored by increases in the number and types of devices that use the content. As the likelihood of a device operating where Internet access is available increases, and the cost of such access decreases, the balance of a cost/benefit analysis shifts in favor of adding network-access hardware and structuring software to use—or even to rely on—Internet-based functionality.
One issue that complicates the general trend towards more, and more available, online information and services, is the limited resources available to some systems that could benefit from the information. In the main, Internet resources are developed to be useful and attractive to users of at least moderately-capable computer systems (e.g., desktop personal computers). Information providers expect their creations to be viewed on a display of at least a certain size or resolution, by a user with a keyboard and a mouse or other pointing device; and may not devote much effort to reducing client memory or computational requirements. Efforts to provide alternate and lighter-weight interfaces often suffer due to a lack of viable economic support models. For example, a news website that relies on advertising to support its data collection, editing and service infrastructure, may not be able to find a revenue stream to support the maintenance of a low-bandwidth, text-only version of the website for computational devices that lack a large screen and/or a full set of user interface devices.
New approaches to online data processing may be able to bring more information to more people.